Princess Won't Match Price!!!

[madelinerose]

I just found my cruise on the Crown for September 3, 2006 at a lower rate of $401.25 at an online site.

 

I called Princess and they will not match the lower rate, so I have to send them a signed fax for them to forward to the online agency, and they will then release the booking to the other agency.

 

WOW - I would think, if I owned Princess, and I had a first-time customer, I would bend over backwards to keep them. :eek:

 

I suppose I live in a fantasy world. :rolleyes:

[Nitemare]

Can you cancel your existing reservation and make the new one? Maybe easier for you?

[Times Prince]

so I have to send them a signed fax for them to forward to the online agency, and they will then release the booking to the other agency.

It would appear they are being very accomodating. It costs you the amount of a fax (a couple of bucks) to transfer the booking to an agency they will now have to share costs with. I would imagine the agency is already cutting into its share to get your business.

 

If you are that concerned about your pricing, then go ahead and just do it.

 

As you actually get on board ship you will find that people will have paid a range of prices for the same services depending on when and where they booked their travel. Just keep quiet about your bargain price and let everyone enjoy their cruise.

[Figsgrandma]

Something similar happened to us for our upcoming Alaska cruise on the Sapphire. In our case, the on line cruise price was the same as we got through the TA, but the on board ship credit was higher, and there were also Target gift cards for booking a balcony cabin and charging the trip to a Master Card. This was a week before final payment was due.

 

I actually put a 24 hour hold on a cabin through the on line agency, then went to speak to my TA. She called Princess, but was told there was nothing that could be done - that was an on-line only deal (and I think the gift card promotions were not coming from Princess). However, I continued to talk to my TA, since whenever possible I prefer to deal with someone local. In the end, after speaking with her manager later in the day, they took about $100 of the price of the cruise, and agreed to honor a coupon that I had misplaced. Since I was also getting 1% of the price of the cruise as cash back on my credit card, the total difference in price turned out to be a few dollars, and I was able to stay with the original booking. I think everyone was happy.

[Lynda90]

As most of us already know and you are finding out, you can almost always do better with an on-line agency than with Princess direct. TA's can pretty much do what they want with their commissions. Many of them give a large amount back to clients in hopes of future business. The more business they have, the more money they can give back to their clients. It's a win-win situation.

[riekl]

The OP sounds surprised ? Is this your first cruise ? Never book with the cruise line there is absolutely no benefit to it and you will always pay current book fair for the cruise no discount ever. The reason is simple, if Princess matched these discounts they would drive the TA's out of business, Princess does not wish to be a direct only marketer at this time the cost to them to have TA's do the bookings is minimal.

[madelinerose]

This is not my first cruise, just my first cruise with Princess. I would never discuss the cost of my cruise with anyone. :rolleyes:

 

As you actually get on board ship you will find that people will have paid a range of prices for the same services depending on when and where they booked their travel. Just keep quiet about your bargain price and let everyone enjoy their cruise.

[madelinerose]

Sent the fax to Princess to release the booking and contacted the other agency. The only reason I booked with Princess directly is because I couldn't find another online agency who had bookings for September 2006 at the time.

 

I also booked E730, the prime real estate - lol, so I want to be absolutely sure my cabin number doesn't get changed.

 

Thanks to all of you for your input. Happy Mothers' Day! ;)

[madelinerose]

No, not surprised at all as this is not my first cruise. I guess I was just taken aback because the rep seemed so surprised when I told her I found a lower rate. I suspect she had no idea that cruisers "shop around". It's all taken care of and even if I wouldn't have found the lower rate, I still would have cruised on the Crown. ;)

 

The OP sounds surprised ? Is this your first cruise ? Never book with the cruise line there is absolutely no benefit to it and you will always pay current book fair for the cruise no discount ever. The reason is simple, if Princess matched these discounts they would drive the TA's out of business, Princess does not wish to be a direct only marketer at this time the cost to them to have TA's do the bookings is minimal.

[spongerob]

Don't be too surprised. Princess does not want to compete directly with their agents - something their agents appreciate. (Well, at least mine appreciates it.)

[madelinerose]

spongerob....All the agents appreciate it! ;)

[sealegs9]

I checked prices with several on-line agencies for 8/25/06 Crown. Then I called Princess to see wht their direct rates are- almost $1000 more for 3 in our cabin. I mentioned to the Princess rep that I found lower rates with on-line agents and the rep encouraged me to us a TA to save $. She was willing to check several names and make sure Princess authorizes them. I thanked her and she thanked me for giving the agents my business! What a change from Royal Caribbean- I can rarely find a lower rate than on their web-site, except TA group space. RCI doesn't seem to care about the TA's anymore.

[Figsgrandma]

There was a lot of discussion of this on the RCI board last year, because RCI had recently changed it's policy towards travel agents reducing their commissions to attract business. I think it was RCI's position that it didn't want the larger agencies, that could afford to cut commissions, to have an advantage over smaller agencies that could not afford to do so. On its face, RCI made it sound like this was good for competition because it was keeping the big guy from pushing out the little guy. By the way, I'm not endorsing this, just passing on what I remember reading.

 

I don't know if there's been any change in that policy since last Fall when it started. Since I am cruising Princess this time I didn't really check prices for RCI.

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

That's not true that Royal Caribbean (and Carnival, for that matter) don't care about travel agents. It was for exactly that reason that a few months ago both lines common-rated their pricing. What that means is the price you are quoted should be the same from every source you check, on those two lines plus Celebrity, I believe. So if you check with the cruise line, a mega on-line agency or your local agent down the street, the quote should be exactly the same. The purpose of this move was to support travel agents, particularly the smaller ones down the street. The mega on-line agencies were beginning to wield too much power because they were cutting price quotes by rebating back part of their commission to customers. In the short run you could get lower prices but in the long run they could take away so much business that competition could be reduced and they could dictate terms to the cruise companies.

 

The mega-agencies got around these new rules this year by offering credit/debit cards with dollar-values on them, that you received after your cruise was completed. At least one of the major lines has told agencies they can't do that anymore either.

 

Although Princess in now under the Carnival umbrella, as far as I know they've not implemented the new rules themselves. But they do strongly support agents by suggesting you book through them. They will take direct bookings from the public but don't emphasize it. You will often find better deals through travel agencies because of this, or a better category for the same price. It pays to shop around; it's not always the mega-agencies that have the best quotes. And if you've got a favorite local agency, use them if the price is the same. You can deal face-to-face, you've got someone to turn to in the event of a problem, and in many cases there is no service charge on cruise bookings whereas many of the on-line agencies hit you up for $15-20 per booking.

 

BobK/Orlando

SEA PRINCESS MAY2005 yeah baby!

[S.S.Oceanlover]

That's not true that Royal Caribbean (and Carnival, for that matter) don't care about travel agents. It was for exactly that reason that a few months ago both lines common-rated their pricing. What that means is the price you are quoted should be the same from every source you check, on those two lines plus Celebrity, I believe. So if you check with the cruise line, a mega on-line agency or your local agent down the street, the quote should be exactly the same. The purpose of this move was to support travel agents, particularly the smaller ones down the street. The mega on-line agencies were beginning to wield too much power because they were cutting price quotes by rebating back part of their commission to customers. In the short run you could get lower prices but in the long run they could take away so much business that competition could be reduced and they could dictate terms to the cruise companies.

 

The mega-agencies got around these new rules this year by offering credit/debit cards with dollar-values on them, that you received after your cruise was completed. At least one of the major lines has told agencies they can't do that anymore either.

 

Although Princess in now under the Carnival umbrella, as far as I know they've not implemented the new rules themselves. But they do strongly support agents by suggesting you book through them. They will take direct bookings from the public but don't emphasize it. You will often find better deals through travel agencies because of this, or a better category for the same price. It pays to shop around; it's not always the mega-agencies that have the best quotes. And if you've got a favorite local agency, use them if the price is the same. You can deal face-to-face, you've got someone to turn to in the event of a problem, and in many cases there is no service charge on cruise bookings whereas many of the on-line agencies hit you up for $15-20 per booking.

 

BobK/Orlando

SEA PRINCESS MAY2005 yeah baby!

 

Agents selling CCL cruises can still discount. They are not allowed to ADVERTISE lower rates. You must call or email specific agencies for their prices.

 

Bill

[rico]

That's completely different than my experience with Princess. We're booked direct with Princess for a Jan 2006 cruise on the Grand (with 4 other families). I noticed today the price per person for our balcony category had dropped $45 on Orbitz & Travelocity. I called Princess, told them about the drop in price, and they immediately adjusted our booking. The other families did the same. No problem. Now granted, we're not talking $400 worth of drop either. Maybe that's the difference. But the Princess operators were more than accomodating when I asked.

[spongerob]

Sometimes the agent is reluctant to make the adjustment, as appears to be the case with the OP here. It's just convenient to blame Princess. You see, it costs the agent part of their potential commission if they adjust the final cost. Follow the money, and assign the blame appropriately.

[Totally Addicted]

I always book with Princess directly and get the exact stateroom I want. Then I shop the prices, do the little *****.com thing and check with any other agents I know also. About 20 of them. Then do my little fax to Princess and transfer to the best offer I have. Works great!! I have plenty of time and I do not panic as I know I already have my booking and the cabin I want! :D